So Suite Properties

Negotiating lease terms between landlords and tenants at termination is rarely straight forward. It involves in-depth market knowledge, a detailed understanding of leases and landlord tenant law and, most importantly, expert negotiation skills. We provide strategic advice to help our clients achieve the best possible outcome.

Planning and tactics at the outset could have a big effect on the ultimate outcome. Early advice from a professional chartered surveyor is therefore essential. We can act for either tenants or landlords.

Some of the issues we can help clients with:

• The length of lease or commitment
• Whether or not there are rights of renewal
• Responsibility for repairs
• Service charges
• Break clauses
• Ability to assign or sublet
• Schedule of Condition

A schedule of condition survey is generally commissioned before the signing of a lease in order to determine the condition of the building so that any existing defects and their repair costs are identified prior to any commitment being made by the lessee.

The schedule of condition survey includes a report on the condition of the building together with notes concerning potential future defects that might need attention. Often, a schedule of condition survey can be used to negotiate with your landlord to have immediate defects corrected prior to your taking over the lease and thus save you considerable sums of money.

For example, if you are taking over an existing lease, the chances are that you will inherit the repair liabilities from the outgoing tenant. But a properly prepared schedule of condition survey from So Suite Properties (Chartered Surveyors), properly agreed with the lessor, will in most cases, limit your liabilities to future deterioration only and could well save you thousands of pounds in repair costs on vacation of the premises.

Finally, our fee is charged in proportion to the complexity of the property, so there is no standard charge.

The term is normally used to cover defects or disrepair which you as tenant will be obliged to deal with or pay to have remedied when you vacate the premises that you have leased.

As a tenant, you may find yourself forced into decisions you will regret for years to follow if you fail to take sound advice particularly when you are negotiating the terms of your tenancy of your commercial property or office and in particular, the repair clause.

When a lease ends a tenant is usually obliged to leave the property in a tenantable condition. In most cases, tenants tend to overlook the implications of leaving a property in a poor condition until it is too late. Tenants fail to recognise this cost. Even when they are aware, their budgeting is usually too low to accommodate the required works.

If you have a dilapidations claim, you need to know the legal limits on the sum your landlord can claim from you. This is called the “statutory cap” on damages. Understandably, the time to think those tactics through is well in advance and certainly before the lease comes to an end.

Having been involved in a number of dilapidations claims, So Suite Properties have great experience in suggesting a suitable strategy for minimising claims made on you, whether that be in your commercial property or office.

Due to the subtleties that have developed in dealing with dilapidations you need a specialist surveyor who understands the issues surrounding dilapidations claims; he will also need to be a keen negotiator and business person who understand the reality of arguing over a small item with insignificant costs and a large item with substantial costs and obligations. And that’s where we can be of immense help to the client.

What are business rates?

• Business rates are a tax on the 1.75 million commercial properties in the UK
• They raise over £20 billion a year for the UK government
• They represent the 3rd biggest outgoing for most businesses after salaries and rent.

Most rates for business premises have not been correctly assessed for many years. Any reduction to your business rate could save you a lot of money, so make sure your property has an up-to-date assessment. So Suite Properties can act on your behalf to make sure you aren’t paying more than you ought to be.

What can we do for you?

• Provide advice on challenging Rateable Values - based on market evidence and treatment of individual buildings

• Identify savings through splits, mergers or reconstitution of assessments
• Secure allowances for building works, external disruptions or other physical influences (for example - oversupply of property in a location)

• Secure relief for empty or under-utilised properties, in the context of the substantial changes reforming empty property relief which came into force on 1 April 2008
• Check of rates bills to identify incorrect calculation by Local Authorities.

Are you paying too much now?
Let us check! Fees can be tailored to suit you - we offer either an incentivised / performance related approach, or a fixed/value related one.

If you're looking to let or sell your commercial property in London, you’ll want to receive the best possible return on your investment.

At So Suite Properties our commercial lettings and sales team have extensive knowledge of the market and can offer expert advice on marketing your offices, leisure, retail or industrial properties or mixed commercial and residential schemes.

Working within a timescale that suits you, we can help get your property marketed to its full potential and achieve the best terms on your behalf.

The team's prime focus is on N, NW, E and W London postcodes and in and around the M25 corridors.

Rent reviews are designed to adjust rent to current market levels. Here at So Suite Properties we are able to implement rent reviews on behalf of either landlords or tenants. Our team is led by a Chartered Surveyor with extensive knowledge of all types of commercial properties, regardless of size and usage. We are extremely well placed to achieve optimum results on behalf of our clients. Rent reviews are becoming increasingly technical in nature and involve case law and evolving market practice. We have all the expertise to help.